Instructions

Limit your access.

If you are conducting internet banking with two banks, that is twice as much exposure to possible fraud than if you are only using one. Try to consolidate your banking, or if that is not possible, try to conduct your internet banking with only one bank. Not only will this help by limiting points of entry for cybercrime, it will also save you headaches when it comes time to changing your password. Compare this idea to protecting a house, where one point of entry is much easier to secure than seven or eight different doorways in.

Internet Banking Safety - Change Your Password Frequently

Change your password frequently
A good rule of thumb is to change your password every three months. This may seem like overkill, but remember, the time investment in changing your password is a type of insurance against possible internet banking threats. Considering the cost of recovery in the event of fraud (if recovery is even possible), this small commitment should be comparatively easy. When choosing a password, keep in mind that your bank will have certain requirements regarding password length and the insertion of numbers. This should be viewed as a minimum level of security. Try to make your password as random as possible with no connections to dates or names that could be traced to you. Use an assortment of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.

Keep a close eye on your accounts

Another small yet critical obligation is to check on your accounts regularly. Alert your bank immediately you encounter anything that does not seem right. Doing this has the added benefit of keeping you aware of recurrent transactions going through your account for services you no longer use, such as a gym membership or club. By keeping tabs on your accounts, you can stop any internet banking attacks early before they can inflict too much damage.

Protect Your Internet Banking Details

Under no circumstances should you reveal any of your banking details to anyone
Giving out details of your account such as account numbers, passwords, or credit/debit card numbers to an unverifiable party is the surest way to become another statistic in internet banking crime. If you receive an email asking for that information, mark it as spam and/or delete it. Your bank will never ask you for that information, and any other requests should be considered suspect as well. Only trusted merchants and your own banking site should ask for your password. Look for the 'https' qualifier at the beginning of the web address. This will let you know the website is secure.

Avoid internet banking in public places.

This may seem obvious, but often times coffee shops, bookstores, and the like offer free Wi-Fi for their customers. These networks are no more secure than any other public networks. If you do any internet banking while on one of these networks, you are increasing the chances of having your security compromised. That is because information broadcast over a public network is just that - public. Someone with the requisite skill might just be able to steal your password if you use it in these areas.

Avoid Questionable Sites While Banking Online

Avoid going to questionable sites
There is a lot to do and see on the Internet, without a doubt. It may be easier to think of the Internet as a carnival, with some well lit areas, fun games, and interesting things to look at. But just like a carnival, there will be a lot of blinking lights and strangers vying for your attention, just waiting for a chance to separate you from your hard-earned money. Remember that nothing is free, anything too good to be true is, and avoid clicking on anything that is flashing or in a pop-up window. Many of these sites harbor spyware and or only intended to steal confidential information from your machine and use it against you.

Make sure you are using a reliable and current browser and anti-virus program
Go for mainstream and conventional browsers that have a long history of use. Most times, these are more secure and hardened than those developed by newer vendors. Having a good platform for traversing the Internet is a basic precaution to protecting yourself from malicious software. The other key element to having a secure internet banking experience is making sure you have an updated anti-virus program running at all times. That way, if your computer does become infected with spyware, your anti-virus program can block and remove it right away before it is able to relay your internet banking details to a third party.

Internet Banking Rules

Read the information given to you
Finally, the advice that is most often overlooked is to make yourself aware of the rules, regulations and policies of the internet banking sites you visit. We recommends reading at least the 'About Us' section of a bank's website. Either located in that section or elsewhere on the site will be the bank's contact information, including the phone number and address of their headquarters, a description of the bank's history. Reading this information is often the easiest and best way to protect yourself and make sure your internet banking experience is secure and safe.